[Serious] Opinions on paganism?

[Thumpalumpacus]

<edited, GZ got there first>

[Bucky Ball]

What are your opinions on paganism and connecting with the nature? Also do you think a pagan is an atheist or no? 

"Paganism" presumes that your god is a real god.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

It would appear that there IS something which prevents the supernatural from interacting with the natural - the name. Most definitions of supernatural make reference to ‘beyond the laws of nature’. I’m not sure how we could recognize any interaction between the two (but I’m open to suggestions).

How do you interpret beyond the laws of science?  It doesn't even seem relevant.  The natural doesn't determine the supernatural, but that doesn't mean that the supernatural doesn't determine the natural.

Jesus never healed a leper.

‘Prior accounts of the supernatural’? Come on.

If you say so.  However, these are common examples of the supernatural in history.  Even if they didn't happen, they establish the usage of the term supernatural according to English speakers and embody a conception of the supernatural which includes interaction with the natural world.  Now perhaps your understanding is contrary to this, and your private dictionary has a different concept of the supernatural, in which case you're no longer communicating and you're just talking to yourself.

I hadn’t taken any of that into consideration. Thank you.

Boru

[paulpablo]

I know nothing about paganism except when someone tells me they're pagan or wiccan or something like that I think I have a good idea what type of person they're going to be.

As for connecting with nature it boggles my mind when people have no interest in getting out in the hillsides and fresh air.
I think there's something to just looking out over trees and sky that is good for you. Not in anyway that goes against science but in some ways that haven't really been identified by science. Maybe just in the simple way we aren't evolved to always be indoors or around cities.
On the other end of the spectrum there's those annoying hipsters who take it too far with the spirituality and the woo. They've become kind of a meme online. I don't think anyone wants to truly get back to fully wild nature, it's scary, full of parasites, flesh eating bacteria and predators.

[The Grand Nudger]

That's probably why there's so much space in the pagan and new age market for soaps, cleaning solutions, natural remedies, and charms.

When people who want to get back to nature™; a vision of nature that is fresher, cleaner, healthier and more safe - set about to create an exterior world that aligns with their internal ideal that's exactly the sort of product and artifice you could expect. Thematically appropriate/correct, and in the process, sanitized and curated. Think about how the manner of effect or the improvement over other products is often advertised to be or believed to be restoring some balance. Natures balance. Natures balance where I grew up would have you malnourished and malarial. This is not what they have in mind (though it may actually be a side effect).

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

That's probably why there's so much space in the pagan and new age market for soaps, cleaning solutions, natural remedies, and charms.  

When people who want to get back to nature™; a vision of nature that is fresher, cleaner, healthier and more safe - set about to create an exterior world that aligns with their internal ideal that's exactly the sort of product and artifice you could expect.  Thematically appropriate/correct, and in the process, sanitized and curated.  Think about how the manner of effect or the improvement over other products is often advertised to be or believed to be restoring some balance.  Natures balance.  Natures balance where I grew up would have you malnourished and malarial.  This is not what they have in mind (though it may actually be a side effect).

Either that, or they want an excuse to dance ‘round a pentacle in the nuddy.

Boru

[The Grand Nudger]

I feel like there should be more of that in the pagan space. Paganism doesn't live up to the hype on that one.

[FrustratedFool]

I suspect a lot of modern neo-pagans are trying to fill the gap left by traditional religions that are seen as immoral, outdated, oppressive, boring, and false.

Many have a 'spiritual' impulse for that peculiar mixture of ritual, community, beauty, the idea of the supernatural, and a sensation of life having meaning and being part of something grander than the self. Traditional religions come at too high a price for many moderns, and there isn't much else on offer. So neo-paganism and new age stuff is the best option.

This can also be greatly connected to a feeling of regaining one's heritage (which can easily become quite racist), or ancestry, or with a concern for nature and the environment, or with an interest in history or psychedelic experiences, or with feeling the ostracisation of non-traditional sexual lives or with belonging to a minority group.

We probably shouldn't also underestimate the 'cool' and 'rebellious' factor of being a witch, warlock, Odinite, or whatever. Especially in the light of modern films & TV about witchcraft, Norse religion, folklore, magick, ancient mythologies, and the such like.

I certainly feel many of the same impulses and enjoy many aspects that new age neo-paganism offers. I indulge to a degree by playing about with placebo magick. The big difference is that I don't believe it is more than psychology and art and LARPing.

[The Grand Nudger]

Most pagans don't either.

[Bucky Ball]

People make shit up all the time. Unsupported shit gets no credence. Religion is purely unsupported shit. Your opinion may vary but is completely irrelevant. Be less of an idiot.

You're too stuck on the idea of needing hard evidence to consider possibilities beyond your limited scope of knowledge and understanding, i.e. you're just small-minded.

Other than evidence, what exactly would you suggest he use ? 
What have YOU found to be helpful in establishing reality, other than some sort of evidence ?